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A monthly partnership publication of
the Louisiana Department of Economic Development
the New Orleans U.S. Export Assistance Center
and the World Trade Center of New Orleans |
Past Issues |
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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REDUCED SERVICE FEES FOR STORM-AFFECTED EXPORTERS
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“ADVERSITY AND THE BENEFITS OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE” CONFERENCE
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JUNE 22
BRAZIL LUNCHEON PROGRAM AT WTC
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BRIEFING ON GULF COAST INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES
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JUNE
16 FRENCH WINE FESTIVAL IN NEW ORLEANS
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JUNE 25-30
LAFAYETTE BUSINESS MISSION TO VAASA, FINLAND
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LOUISIANA
TRADE MISSION TO VENEZUELA PETROLEUM SHOW
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JUNE 26-28 U.S.-ARAB ECONOMIC FORUM IN HOUSTON
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2006
LOUISIANA INTERNATIONAL TRADE DIRECTORY
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TANGIPAHOA PORT
DIRECTOR POSITION
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U.S.
RESTORES DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH LIBYA
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WORLD
TRADE SLUGGISH IN ‘05, PROSPECTS UNCERTAIN for ‘06
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EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
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| The Commerce Department’s U.S. Commercial Service (USFCS) has announced
a significant reduction in the costs of several of its export programs for
U.S. businesses affected by hurricane disasters to encourage exporting and
help them in their economic recovery efforts.
Reduced fees will be provided until all USFCS funds reserved for the
program are spent, or until September 30, 2006. For U.S. companies that
produce goods or services in U.S.- Declared Hurricane Major Disaster Areas,
the USFCS International Partner Search, International Company Profile and
Gold Key Service fees will be reduced by 50 percent:
- The Gold Key (GKS) is a matchmaking service provided by all commercial
sections of the USFCS at U.S. embassies and consulates in more than 80
countries. It brings together U.S. exporters and potential foreign
business partners.
- The International Partner Search (IPS) locates qualified foreign
distributors and agents and provides listings to the requesting U.S.
company.
- The International Company Profile (ICP) conducts background checks and
provides U.S. firms with information on the good standing of potential
foreign business partners.
In addition, the cost of Commercial Service trade missions will be
reduced by an amount equal to 50 percent of the aggregate cost of a one-day
Gold Key Service (GKS) in each of the mission stops. Companies participating
in this program may receive no more than one each of the following at the
reduced cost: IPS, ICP, and trade missions. Companies may receive no more
than three GKSs at the reduced cost.
With its network of offices across the U.S. and in more than 80
countries, the U.S. Commercial Service utilizes its global presence and
international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products
and services worldwide. In 2005, the U.S. Commercial Service helped generate
nearly 12,500 export successes worth billions of dollars in U.S. export
sales to other countries.
Currently the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has designated
U.S.- Declared Hurricane Major Disaster Areas in parts of six states,
including North Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, and
Louisiana. Visit
www.export.gov to find your nearest U.S. Export Assistance Center and
link to the FEMA web site. Exporters wo are located in Louisiana should
contact Donald van de Werken, the Director of the New Orleans Export
Assistance Center, at (504) 589-6546.
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| Celebrating rejuvenated New Orleans and the role of international trade,
the Louisiana District Export Council (DEC) and the U.S. Commercial Service
will host “Adversity and the Benefits of International Trade,” the National
District Export Council Conference, in New Orleans at the InterContinental
Hotel on October 30 - November 1.
The 2006 NDEC Conference is a great forum for international business
networking and trade education. The conference will address relevant and
timely topics -- overcoming trade challenges; government services; due
diligence; tax issues; trade marketing; and finance and logistics. Speakers,
panelists, and exhibitors will include exporters such as the Shaw
Corporation, local, state and federal government officials including the
State of Louisiana and the Federal Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee
agencies, trade service providers, trade financers, and trade group
representatives. Each of the presentations and breakouts will be highly
interactive and informative.
The registration fee for the DEC conference is $325 and registration,
sponsorship opportunities, and hotel information are available at
www.decconference.com
or call the U.S. Export Assistance Center in New Orleans at (504) 589-6703.
Some of the prestigious sponsors for the conference include J.P. Morgan
Chase, PNC Bank, Comerica Bank, Louisiana Economic Development, Louisiana
Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, Capital One N.A., Le Centre
International, Mississippi Development Authority, Port of New Orleans, Port
of South Louisiana, Whitney National Bank, Alabama International Trade
Center/The University of Alabama and Edward K. Dwyer, CPA. Cooperating DECs
include Alabama, Arkansas, Houston, Maryland-Washington, D.C., Mississippi,
North Louisiana, North Texas, San Diego, Texas Camino Real,
Virginia-Washington, D.C., and West Texas.
The District Export Councils (DECs) are organizations of leaders from the
local business community, appointed by successive Secretaries of Commerce,
whose knowledge of international business provides a source of professional
advice for local firms.
For more than 25 years, DECs have served the United States by assisting
companies in their local communities to export, thus promoting the U.S.`s
economic growth and creating new and higher-paying jobs for their
communities. DEC members volunteer their time to sponsor and participate in
numerous trade promotion activities, as well as to supply specialized
expertise to small and medium-size businesses that are interested in
exporting. The DECs advocate for U.S. exporters and speak out on national
trade policy issues through a variety of means, including the issuance of
trade policy recommendations at this annual national conference.
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| On June 22, the U.S. Export Assistance Center, WTC, and other
organizations will sponsor a luncheon briefing in the Plimsoll Club at 12:00
noon on “Doing Business in Brazil” featuring Frank G. Carrico, Principal
Commercial Officer, U.S. Commercial Service, S‹o Paulo. Mr. Carrico is
responsible for U.S. business development and exports to southern Brazil, an
area accounting for three-quarters of Brazil’s GNP and home to 400 of the
U.S. Fortune 500 offices. The Commercial Service’s office in S‹o Paulo is
part of the second largest U.S. Consulate in the world and one of the
Commerce’s Department largest overseas offices.
Mr. Carrico’s presentation will include the following topics: Brazil’s
economy, (including the upcoming Presidential elections), Brazil’s bilateral
trade and investment with the United States, U.S. trade facilitation in
Brazil, and attracting increased Brazilian travel, tourism, and convention
participants to New Orleans and the Gulf. Mr. Carrico will also meet with
key tourism and convention industry leaders in the region to discuss these
opportunities.
Prior to his Sao Paulo posting, Mr. Carrico served in commercial
assignments in the Ukraine, Japan, and Germany. To register for the June 22
luncheon, call the WTC at (504) 529-1601, ext. 222 or register on-line with
the WTC at www.wtcno.org (details to be
posted shortly).
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| The Department of Commerce and the Federal Office of Gulf Coast
Rebuilding are hosting a “Briefing on Investment Opportunities in the Gulf
Coast” on June 27 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon at the U.S. Department of
Commerce in Washington, D.C. This meeting will apprise business leaders of
the opportunities and the incentives for investment in the Gulf Coast
region, including federal GO Zone legislation and New Markets Tax Credits.
The briefing will feature Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez,
Chairman Donald E. Powell, Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding,
senior officials from the U.S. Department of Treasury, and representatives
from Louisiana and Mississippi. They will discuss the economic and business
landscape in the Gulf States, including the significant federal and state
incentives for investment in the Gulf States following Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita.
Following the formal presentations, participants will have the
opportunity to ask questions of leading federal and state officials involved
in Gulf Coast reconstruction. Additional information can be found at
www.GulfCoastOpportunity.gov or call Commerce’s Office of Business
Liaison at (202) 482-4054.
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| The French American Chamber of Commerce/Louisiana Chapter will hold its
French Summer Wine Festival on Saturday, June 16 from 6:00 p.m. until 9:30
p.m. at the Monteleone Hotel in New Orleans. Now in its seventh year, the
event will feature New Orleans' most talented chefs from Andrea's, Flaming
Torch, Table One, Café Degas, Dominique's Restaurant, The Longbranch,
Maurice French Pastries, Rene Bistro, Martin Wine Cellar, La Boulangerie,
Dorignac's Bakery, and Michabelle with each preparing their signature dish,
paired with carefully selected French wines. This is a truly great event for
both food and wine connoisseurs. Tickets are $45 for FACC/LA members and $55
for non-members.
For more information on the wine festival, contact the FACC at (504)
561-0070 or at info@faccla.com
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| Lafayette Consolidated Government President Joey Durel will lead a
Business and Information Technology Mission to Vaasa, Finland, on June
25-30. Acadiana residents involved in this sector are invited to be part of
this mission organized on the occasion of the SESAME Network annual meeting
and business conference, the International Sesame Exchange (ISE). While the
mission will concentrate on Information and Media technologies, the
following other sectors will be included in the Vaasa Exchange: power
generation and distribution/energy technology, electronics and digital media
technologies/equipment/training, chemicals and plastics, boat building,
metal products, and others.
Lafayette is a founding member of the Sesame Network, which was
established in 1991, and Vaasa is one of its newest members. The medium-size
city organization now includes 15 cities on five continents (www.reseausesamenetwork.org).
Vaasa will soon become the Finnish town with the largest fiber phone and TV
network. The Vaasa ISE will be attended by business men and women,
researchers, professors, and economic development and government officials
from most of the Sesame member-cities, as well as a large contingent from
Finland, particularly the Ostrobothnia region in Western Finland and its hub
city of Vaasa. Finland is a world leader in business competitiveness.
Contact the Lafayette International Center at (337) 291-5474 for more
information, including the ISE event schedule, a travel and registration
package with suggested flights and a list of pre-registered companies from
Finland signed up for early matchmaking.
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| Louisiana Economic Development and the New Orleans U.S. Export
Assistance Center are organizing a trade mission to participate in the Latin
American Petroleum Show (LAPS) in Maracaibo, Venezuela, with an add-on after
the show to Caracas for private meetings. The show dates are June 27-29; the
trade mission dates are June 25-June 30.
The Latin American Petroleum Show (LAPS) has been Venezuela’s premier oil
and gas show for over 25 years, attracting energy industry decision-makers
and executives from around the world and hosting audiences that number in
the thousands. LAPS is the ideal venue to learn about Venezuela’s ambitious
2006-2012 $56-billion hydrocarbons investment plan, as well as expand
Louisiana’s commercial presence in a market worth close to half a billion
dollars every year to U.S. exporters of oil and gas field machinery. For
more information, contact Rebekah Robertson with Louisiana Economic
Development at (225) 342-4318 or Delilah DeSouza with the New Orleans Export
Assistance Center at (504) 915-3301.
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| The Greater Houston Partnership is one of the co-sponsors of the
U.S.-Arab Economic Forum taking place June 26-28 at the Hilton Americas and
George R. Brown Convention Center. Under the theme, “One World. Two
Cultures. Endless Possibilities,” the Forum will bring together high level
executives and government leaders from the U.S. and the Middle East, to
discuss both the challenges to and opportunities for strengthening Arab-U.S.
business relations. The Forum’s Honorary Chair is former U.S. President H.W.
Bush. Details and registration information are available at
www.usaeforum.org
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| The 2006 edition of the Louisiana International Trade Directory, the
official State of Louisiana export-import directory, is now available from
the World Trade Center. Jointly published by Louisiana Economic Development,
the New Orleans U.S. Export Assistance Center, and the WTC, the new edition
has been completely updated since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. It contains
over 1,700 listings of Louisiana exporters, importers, transportation
services, international attorneys, trade-related services, and international
trade organizations.
The Directory also includes U.S. government, state, and local agencies,
as well as foreign consulates in Louisiana. The Directory is posted on the
World Trade Center's website with a free link to listed companies' websites
and is also available for sale from the WTC in CD-Rom or a 3-ring binder
format. The hard-copy Directory costs $40 ($20 for WTC members) and the
CD-Rom costs $100 ($50 for WTC members). To order, call the WTC at (504)
529-1601, ext. 222 or click one of the following links.
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| The South Tangipahoa Parish Port Commission is seeking resumes for the
position of Executive Director. The position will assist with the
development of a comprehensive program intended to attract port-related
industrial, manufacturing, processing and warehousing companies to the port,
and will be in charge of day-to-day operations and maintenance activities at
the port site and supervise office personnel. The applicant should possess a
Bachelors degree and a minimum of two years of professional experience in
either port operations, economic development, or industrial promotion and
development in which a knowledge of labor markets, natural resources,
environmental regulations, tax structures, marketing, and distribution was
required. Resumes with references should be sent to the South Tangipahoa
Parish Port Commission, 163 West Hickory Street, Ponchatoula, LA 70454.
Interested candidates may call (985) 386-9309 or e-mail:
portmanchac@i-55.com. Resumes will
be accepted through June 30, 2006.
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Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced on May 15 that the United
States is restoring full diplomatic relations with Libya. As part of this
effort, the U.S. intends to remove Libya from the list of designated state
sponsors of terrorism, which will eliminate restrictions on exports to Libya
of dual-use items as well as defense articles and services on the U.S.
Munitions List. This action reportedly could take place in late-June.
“Today’s announcements are tangible results that flow from the historic
decisions taken by Libya’s leadership in 2003 to renounce terrorism and to
abandon its weapons of mass destruction programs,” Secretary Rice said. “As
a direct result of those decisions we have witnessed the beginning of that
country’s re-emergence into the mainstream of the international community.
Today marks the opening of a new era in U.S.-Libya relations that will
benefit Americans and Libyans alike.”
The U.S. lifted most of its economic sanctions against Libya in April
2004. This included allowing the resumption of most commercial activities
(including imports and exports), financial transactions and investments in
Libya by U.S. companies, as well as terminating the application of a law
allowing sanctions against foreign companies investing in the Libyan energy
sector. The U.S. also dropped its objections to Libya’s efforts to begin the
process of joining the World Trade Organization, which got underway with the
establishment of a working party in July 2004. Some U.S. officials have said
that Libya could eventually become part of the proposed U.S.-Middle East
Free Trade Area.
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| Commenting on the sluggish growth in trade during 2005, World Trade
Organization (WTO) Director General Pascal Lamy stated that, “shifting
economic circumstances, major advances in technology and the emergence of
new players on the global scene all underscore that we are on the cusp of
big changes.” Oil and mined goods were among the most valuable goods traded
last year and the currencies of natural resource exporting countries such as
Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile and Mexico ranged between four and 17
percent. More information is available in the report entitled, World Trade
2005, Prospects For 2006, which can be accessed at
www.wto.org/english/news_e/pres06_ e/pr437_e.htm
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| Cooper Jumonville, a New Orleans native who graduated Jesuit High School
and has recently returned from three years abroad in France, Spain and
Mexico (with a brief stay in Texas where he earned a Masters of the Arts in
Hispanic Literatures at the University of Texas at Austin), seeks employment
in the international business community in New Orleans. He understands that
varying cultures can have different perceptions of the world and his
experience abroad has benefited and broadened his point of view. With
near-native fluency in Spanish, with strong conversational skills in French
and with five years of experience teaching languages, he seeks employment
offering teaching, tutoring and translation services, as well as employment
with a company where his international expertise is required. He is highly
motivated and is looking for new opportunities. He can be reached at (512)
659-9113
cooper.jumonville@gmail.com
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The Louisiana International Trade Bulletin is a monthly
partnership publication of the:
Louisiana Department of Economic Development
New Orleans U.S. Export Assistance Center
World Trade Center of New Orleans
Information in the Bulletin is gathered from sources
considered to be reliable, but the completeness and accuracy of the information
cannot be guaranteed.
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